𝐌𝐁𝐀𝐃𝐈 𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐊𝐒𝐡4.78 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐁𝐔𝐃𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐀𝐒 𝐌𝐏𝐬 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐒, 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

By Ahmed Salat Ali | Political Affairs Reporter, AARAN TV KE 

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has defended the Government’s proposed KSh4.785 trillion budget for the 2026/27 financial year, as lawmakers intensified pressure on the National Treasury over revenue collection, healthcare financing, pending bills, and fiscal accountability.

Appearing before the National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee chaired by Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi, Mbadi, accompanied by Treasury Principal Secretary Dr. Chris Kiptoo and Director-General for Budget and Fiscal Economic Affairs Albert Mwenda, outlined the Government’s medium-term fiscal framework and spending priorities.

The Treasury projects total expenditure at KSh4.785 trillion against anticipated revenue, including Appropriations-in-Aid (A-I-A), amounting to KSh3.629 trillion. This leaves a fiscal deficit of KSh1.111 trillion, equivalent to 5.3 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Committee, however, raised concerns over the sustainability of the Government’s revenue projections amid persistent underperformance in tax collection.

Rarieda MP David Ochieng questioned the Treasury’s strategy for incorporating county governments’ own-source revenue into the national fiscal framework.

“What measures are you putting in place to factor in county own-source revenue, considering that we are losing substantial amounts of money?” Ochieng posed.

In response, the Treasury said the fiscal framework is anchored on reforms under the National Tax Policy and the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy, including the digitisation of tax administration systems at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and expanded non-tax revenue collection by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Mbadi further disclosed that reforms such as land rent restructuring and the introduction of instant fines had already been factored into the revenue projections.

The lawmakers also turned their attention to the Social Health Authority (SHA), with MPs demanding clarity on enrolment figures, premium contributions, and the number of beneficiaries accessing healthcare services.

Committee Chairperson Samuel Atandi expressed concern over challenges facing healthcare delivery, arguing that increased funding to the sector could help stabilise the system.

Tongaren MP John Chikati demanded detailed accountability from the Treasury regarding SHA operations.

“Over 27 million Kenyans have registered for SHA. We need to know who has benefited and, out of those enrolled, who is actually paying premiums,” Chikati said.

Mbadi acknowledged that while over 27 million Kenyans had registered under SHA, only about five million were active contributors, including four million salaried workers and approximately one million voluntary contributors.

“We may not have all the figures at hand, but the SHA Board and the Ministry of Health can provide comprehensive data. We must continue allocating more resources to primary healthcare,” Mbadi told the Committee.

The Treasury further informed MPs that the country had made notable progress towards Universal Health Coverage through the deployment of 107,831 Community Health Promoters and the establishment of 228 Primary Healthcare Networks nationwide.

Samburu West MP Naisula Lesuuda raised concerns over mounting pending bills and questioned whether capitation funding for schools should be prioritised as a first charge on the Exchequer.

Mbadi attributed the backlog of pending bills to historical delays in exchequer releases but maintained that the Government had made significant progress in settling arrears.

“Over the last two financial years, we have worked to ensure that disbursements remain up to date. Payments to counties, NG-CDF, and NGAAF are now nearly current,” he said.

On education financing, the Treasury reaffirmed its commitment to teacher recruitment and internship programmes, including plans to recruit 24,000 intern teachers across the country.

Kitutu Chache North MP Japheth Nyakundi also questioned the effectiveness of the Electronic Government Procurement (EGP) system.

Mbadi defended the programme, saying most government institutions had already adopted the system.

“We started slowly, but today almost the entire Government has onboarded onto the EGP platform. Most MDAs now have trained personnel operating the system,” he stated.

The CS further revealed plans to introduce an integrated county revenue collection system through the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) to harmonise manual and digital revenue collection mechanisms across counties.

Committee Vice Chairperson Robert Pukose sought clarification on the implementation of the Single Treasury Account (STA), citing concerns previously flagged by the Auditor-General.

Mbadi admitted that although reforms were underway to improve cash management and coordination, full implementation of the STA was still ongoing.

The Treasury CS also disclosed that the Contingency Fund had not been utilised during the previous financial year.

“This year we have increased allocations to the fund. We have also not approved the use of Article 223 since Parliament approved Supplementary Estimates I,” Mbadi explained.

On Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), the Treasury highlighted key infrastructure projects currently under implementation, including Nairobi Expressway Lot 3, the Galana Kulalu Food Security Project, geothermal expansion at Menengai, and annuity road programmes.

According to Mbadi, PPPs remain critical in easing pressure on public debt while accelerating infrastructure development.

The Treasury maintained that the 2026/27 budget is anchored on the Government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), focusing on agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), affordable housing, the digital economy, and healthcare.

Among the flagship achievements highlighted were the enrolment of more than 27 million Kenyans into SHA, the digitisation of land records under the Ardhi Sasa programme, issuance of over one million title deeds, expansion of fibre optic infrastructure to more than 80,000 kilometres, establishment of 404 digital hubs, and training of over 1.5 million youth through the Ajira Digital Programme.

The Treasury also reported that more than 214,000 affordable housing units were under construction across the country, alongside expanded fertiliser and seed subsidy programmes aimed at boosting agricultural productivity.

Mbadi maintained that Kenya’s economy remained resilient despite global economic shocks, rising oil prices, and geopolitical tensions, with economic growth projected at five per cent in 2026.

“We remain committed to growth-supportive fiscal consolidation while ensuring resources are directed to priority sectors that directly impact wananchi,” Mbadi told the Committee.

The Budget and Appropriations Committee is expected to table its report before the National Assembly next Tuesday after concluding scrutiny of sectoral allocations.